Insight Lab helps nonprofits, government agencies, foundations, and social impact businesses measure what their programs do and for whom. We bring doctoral-level rigor, scope every study to your real budget, and write findings your staff, board, and community can act on.
Most small and mid-sized organizations need strong evaluation and can't pay large-firm rates. We started Insight Lab to close that gap, and to make sure the work gets used once it's done.
We write the evaluation plan and logic model into your proposal, then carry the work through to the final report. One partner from grant stage to closeout.
Our evaluations are utilization-focused. We start from the decisions you need to make and deliver short, plain-language findings tied directly to them.
We step in for single projects and help build your team's own comfort with data, so each round of evaluation gets easier and cheaper.
We design culturally responsive studies, disaggregate data to surface disparities, and center the voices of the people your programs serve.
Four core specializations, with equity applied as a lens across all of them. Projects that span areas or need a custom design are welcome.
Developmental, formative, and summative evaluations built to produce findings you can act on.
Surveys that measure community needs, public attitudes, and program outcomes.
Frameworks and evidence that help you understand and communicate your impact.
Stand-alone engagements for organizations ready to examine disparities in their programs and data.
Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Interviews, focus groups, surveys, administrative data, and the analysis to bring them together.
Discuss a projectWe collaborate with clients and the communities they serve from scoping through reporting. Here is how a typical engagement runs.
We learn your program, your funders' expectations, and the decisions the evaluation needs to inform.
We build the study together, matched to your questions, timeline, and budget.
Rigorous data collection and analysis, disaggregated so no group's story gets averaged away.
Clear findings and recommendations in formats your board, funders, and community will read.
We leave your team with tools and know-how to keep learning from your own data.
Better evidence leads to better decisions, and better decisions lead to more fulfilled lives.
High methodological standards across qualitative and quantitative work.
Findings that are clear, actionable, and free of jargon.
Built into how we design studies, read results, and work with communities.
Transparent about what the data can and cannot tell you.
Your voice and your community's voice at every stage.
Insight Lab was founded by two University of Michigan doctoral researchers with experience across nonprofits, government, policy, and academia. As a boutique firm, you work directly with us on every project.
Fadilat is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of Michigan. Her mixed-methods research examines how African and African Caribbean immigrants experience immigration enforcement in the United States, with funding from the Social Science Research Council, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. Her data analysis has informed an NBC News investigation into school discipline and policy materials for African Communities Together. She previously supported litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Innocence Project.
Fadilat on LinkedIn
Cynthia is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of Michigan. She has led independent research on migration from Africa to Europe since 2016, funded by government fellowships, foundation scholarships, and university grants. A published author, she is trained in community-engaged research methods and ethics, and brings more than four years of experience with nonprofits, schools, and government agencies as a consultant. Cynthia speaks English, Spanish, French, and Arabic. Outside of work, she enjoys nature walks with her family.
Cynthia on LinkedInWe meet you where your budget is. Share what you have to work with, and we will design the strongest study it can support and be clear about the tradeoffs.
Every engagement is scoped project by project, from a focused logic model session to a multi-year evaluation. We set aside capacity each year for grassroots organizations doing work we believe in.
Members of the American Evaluation Association and the Michigan Association for Evaluation.
Send a few lines about your organization, what you want to learn, and any funder deadlines. We reply within two business days and the first conversation is always free.